I visited The Collective in Santa Maria last night with a friend. The concept of having several restaurants in one building is pretty interesting, and the food and drinks themselves were good. I especially enjoyed the beer selection and the dishes we tried.
That said, my...
Read MoreI visited The Collective in Santa Maria last night with a friend. The concept of having several restaurants in one building is pretty interesting, and the food and drinks themselves were good. I especially enjoyed the beer selection and the dishes we tried.
That said, my experience was a bit off-putting. When I ordered my first beer—before even ordering any food—the bartender asked for my card and said he needed to hold onto it because he didn’t know who I was. I’ve never had that happen at a restaurant/bar before, and it made me feel a bit put off, like I was being treated as a potential dine-and-dash risk just because I’m from out of town and he hadn't seen me in there before.
Overall, the food and drinks were solid, but that interaction left a strange impression. Will be neat if this place is able to grow, with more vendors as it seems to still be coming together.
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